Eagles Rookie Linebackers Leaning on Each Other

It's a young group, so LB coach Ken Flajole is practicing patience as Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley, Dante Olson bond in absence of a true veteran other than Nathan Gerry

Davion Taylor has yet to latch on to any specific linebacker, one who will answer all his questions, take him under his wing and teach him how to be a professional both on and off the field.

The option for the Eagles third-round draft pick this past spring are limited. The only true veteran in the group, Nathan Gerry, is still feeling his way along as he enters his fourth season with 15 starts at the position and this was after he arrived from Nebraska as a safety.

And now, Gerry is on the Eagles’ Reserve/COVID-19 list, which won’t help.

“One person that stood out to me is Nathan Gerry,” said Taylor during a videoconference call on Wednesday evening. “He’s one of the best linebackers I’ve seen when it comes to watching film and he shows up. Even in the virtual meetings, he’s still asking questions like he’s still a rookie and that’s one thing I admire about him because he has production on the field, but he comes in the meeting still trying to learn, still trying to learn the system and still trying to be the best player he can be.”

As far as veterans go, Gerry is it.

Nigel Bradham, 30, is gone, though he remains a free agent after four seasons in Philadelphia. Mychal Kendricks left after 2017 and Jordan Hicks split for Arizona after the 2018 season.

So, who else is Taylor and his fellow rookies, sixth-round pick Shaun Bradley and undrafted free agent Dante Olson, supposed to learn from?

“As far as leaning on a linebacker, I haven’t leaned on anyone just yet, but when they actually come in, I’ll find one to lean on and make sure I ask him a lot of questions,” said Taylor. “I’m more a hands-on guy. I like to talk to people face to face, eye to eye, that’s how I build relationships. I can’t wait for those vets to come in and get close to every one of them.”

Jatavis Brown and Alex Singleton are the oldest of the linebacker group, both 26.

Brown, though, is in his first year with the Eagles and still learning the defense, and Singleton is in his second season, though he was a standout in the Canadian Football League before coming on board.

Taylor said that he, Bradley, and Olson have relied a lot on each other so far.

“It’s been great with all three of us, me, him, and Dante,” said Taylor. “Now that we’re all together we’re all depending on each other. We help each other.

“If we have a question, we ask each other. We watch film together, so we’re just always like, this rookie class, we’re just depending on each other.”

In the meantime, Flajole has kept it simple for his young group, though Taylor said he is trying to learn all three linebacker positions as well as all the special team units.

“The way he was teaching, he had a patience with us because he knew we weren’t able to be in the facility or on the field so he had the patience to make sure every day was taken little by little and making sure we were getting every little detail in the playbook so we’ll be ready when we come out here. Now that we are back hands-on, it’s even better but he’s making sure we’re doing the right things.

In the offseason, we learned so much, but it’s kind of different when you’re actually on the field. So we’re just taking it day by day, little by little, and making sure we’re getting everything correct.

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